San Juan College High senior wins Jiffy Lube scholarship

Gavin Francis, a senior at San Juan College High School in Farmington, won a $1,500 scholarship that will help bridge the gap between high school and college as he prepares to study pharmacy at the University of New Mexico and finish his associate degree in prepharmacy.

Francis received the award through Jiffy Lube of New Mexico’s 2025-2026 What Drives You teen driver scholarship program, which selected only four students statewide and distributed $9,500 in total. The annual program includes one $5,000 top scholarship and three $1,500 finalist awards, making Francis one of a small group recognized across New Mexico for academic achievement, career goals and community involvement.

For Francis, the timing matters. He plans to continue his education in Albuquerque while building on the prepharmacy path he has already started, and the scholarship adds direct support as college costs begin to stack up. The program is designed to find students who can explain what motivates them, not simply those with the highest GPA.

Applicants submitted a 500-word essay, and finalists were also required to create a 1- to 2-minute video, submit photos and sign a model release before winners were chosen. According to the New Mexico rules, the scholarship awards are not based on GPA or standard qualifying criteria. That makes the competition unusual, and for San Juan County students, it puts a premium on personal story as much as grades.

Francis said his interest in pharmacy grew from growing up near the Navajo Nation, where he learned about health issues facing Navajo people, and from interning at a local pharmacy. He also pointed to his grandfather’s heart surgery as a turning point that strengthened his desire to enter a career that could improve other people’s lives.

The other 2025-2026 recipients were Brennan Shock of Cliff High School, who won the $5,000 top prize and plans to pursue HVAC and plumbing; Landon Baiardo of Explore Academy in Albuquerque, who received $1,500 and plans to study forensics at the University of New Mexico; and Gwendolyn Hernandez of Tatum High School, who also received $1,500 and plans to study accounting at the University of Wyoming.

Jiffy Lube of New Mexico says the What Drives You program has provided more than $140,000 in scholarships since launching in 2007. Richard Jones, the company’s president and CEO, has said the awards are meant to support continued education and empower the next generation of New Mexicans, a mission that now includes one more Farmington student headed toward a health-care career.